ecomodo named green game changer ..

As part of their 50th anniversary, the WWF have highlighted 50 ‘green game-changers’ – a selection of business examples from around the world where businesses and entrepreneurs have used environmental challenges as a catalyst for innovation. And Ecomodo is very excited and proud to have been named a Green Game-Changer!

Their new report shows innovative ways to reduce the use of raw materials, restore natural resources and upscale renewable energy to stimulate new thinking to transform business for good and drive a greener economy.

Read the WWF’s Green Game Changer report here.

ecomodo helps to celebrate WWF’s 50th ..

As part of their 50th anniversary, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) asked 50 business and thought leaders to share their vision on how business can drive transformational change towards a sustainable future. Amongst the prestigious line-up were ..

• Jonathon Porritt Founder director of Forum for the Future
• Deborah Meaden Dragon’s Den & WWF Ambassador
• Paul Polman CEO, Unilever
• Cyndi Rhoades CEO, Worn Again
• Ian Cheshire CEO, Kingfisher
• David Nussbaum CEO, WWF UK
• Matt Brittin CEO, Google UK
• Dan Epstein Head of Sustainable Development, London 2012
  
• James Cameron Vice chairman of Climate Change Capital
  
• Steve Holliday CEO, National Grid
  
• Nicolas Petrovic CEO, Eurostar
• John Elkington Founder of Volans

And me ..

• Tracy Currer Co-founder of Ecomodo

I felt extremely honoured to be invited by BigPictureTV to contribute a 50th Anniversary message to the WWF – though a wee bit nervous – but luckily I didn’t find out who else they had invited until later. And although Ecomodo is currently a small fish in a big pond – all these organisations were once start-ups just like us. So it’s great to see so many big players stepping up to the challenge and rethinking how their businesses can operate differently to evoke change.

Held at the Royal Society, the ‘World with a Future’ event brought together many of these leaders. At one point the discussion turned to “consumer choice”, and the issue that consumers expect and demand choice, making sustainability difficult. It made me think how important it is to design sustainability into every level of the user experience. Actually most consumers choose the default option and by carefully considering what the default is set to –  it’s an easy way to simply nudge people in the right direction. Though of course the sustainable option may not always be the most profitable one – and here lies the dilemma. Ecomodo delivers choice – an alternative to retail – the ability to enable consumers to borrow instead of buy from a place even more local than the high street.

But the most bizarre thing had to be listening to Ian Cheshire’s talk (B&Q) about delivering “use” over “ownership” – at one point I thought he’d stolen my pitch. Though he did miss off my tagline – “People need a hole – not a drill! The drill is just a means to the end.”

Watch WWF’s ‘Talking Heads’ video’s here.